The Kremlin was behind a murder-for-hire plot targeting Russian dissidents around the world, including in America, the U.S. Department of Justice said this week as it unsealed charges against five people accused of being part of a global assassination network controlled by Russian intelligence.
The five people, who remain at large, are accused of paying others in the U.S. to conduct surveillance operations and carry out targeted killings of civilians in Europe thought to be aligned with Ukraine.
The five were also tasked with finding people willing to commit acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure linked to European support to Kyiv.
“Actions like these represent a gross violation of our sovereignty and a threat to our national security,” John A. Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement. “We will stamp out any foreign intelligence services’ attempt to operate freely in our great nation and we will not rest until they and their enablers suffer the most severe consequences that federal law can levy.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there wasn’t any point in commenting on the indictments until evidence of the alleged assassination plot emerges.
“Until we have heard and seen any credible evidence and arguments based on something tangible, we do not consider it necessary to comment on this news,” Mr. Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Wednesday.
Justice Department officials said the Russian intelligence murder-for-hire network has operated since at least 2024 in the U.S. and in other countries. It has focused on carrying out attacks, including murder, against Russian dissidents and defectors.
The FBI said it disrupted the operation but did not provide additional details.
U.S. officials have not identified the individuals who were targeted by Russia’s alleged murder-for-hire scheme.
“When this threat was identified, the Washington Field Office and our partners moved quickly to disrupt the plot and hold the Russian government accountable for its actions,” said Darren B. Cox, the office’s assistant director.
Federal prosecutors said three of those listed in the indictment are high-ranking members of the Russian Intelligence Service: Yuri Khrameev, 63; his son, Kirill Khrameev, 27; and Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35, an influential member of the Cuban diaspora living in Russia.
The elder Khrameev is a former colonel in the Russian intelligence services. His son is an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB. Mr. Durruthy has coordinated attacks in the past for the Russian intelligence network.
Two others indicted in the plot include Cuban national Yaidel Delgado Suarez, 35, and Angel Eduardo Castro, 22, of Venezuela. The Justice Department said they were part of the recruitment effort in the U.S.
Prosecutors said Mr. Suarez paid a man $1,000-$1,500 to conduct a surveillance operation on a potential assassination target living in the U.S. Mr. Suarez later declined a $40,000 offer to “eliminate” or “disappear” the intended victim, according to the indictment.
The five suspects are all charged with participating in a conspiracy to finance terrorism, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Yuri Khrameev, Mr. Suarez, and Mr. Castro are also charged with participating in a conspiracy to commit murder for hire, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence if convicted.
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